[Peter]

For November it's Geek's Choice month for Book of the Month Club and for our 50th BOMC selection, Jamie has picked the Bone One Volume by Jeff Smith. You can pick it up at Instocktrades.com for a special BOMC discount of 40%:
http://www.instocktrades.com/product.aspx?...0m&pid=3393

And feel free to post your thoughts on the book in this thread and we'll include as many as we can in the episode. We'll be recording at the end of the month.

[DoctorStrange]

I'm so glad you guys are doing this for BOMC as it's a title that I love dearly. I never read the series as it originally came out but I borrowed the first trade from the local library and absolutely loved it. I popped down to my LCS soon after and bought the first and second TPs. Not long after that the One Book Edition was released so I picked that up as well.

For me Bone is one of very best examples of comics done brilliantly. You can keep your Batman: Year One's and your Watchmen's, for me Bone is the book the really showcased just how powerful, touching, funny, epic, and inventive comics can be. Smith's story telling, both in the script and visually is amazing. I've never read another comic that has such great comedic timing. But amongst all the zaniness of the Bone cousins and stupid, stupid rat creatures there is a beautiful story with heart and soul. There is so much life to this world and it's characters.

Bone is also my go-to book that I give to people who have never read a comic in their lives. I recently gave the first two TPs to a friend of mine (as I had the One Book edition I was happy to give away the two trades to a friend). At first she was unsure, looking at the art she thought it would be very cartoony. However, after reading them she e-mailed me saying that she enjoyed them very much, loved the story, remarked on how cute Smiley is and asked where she could get more. That's just one person, but I've leant/ shown/ bought the book for several people and they've all totally enjoyed it.

Ok, I've probably geeked out enough over this now, so in summary I'll say this; Bone - one of the top 5 comic series ever!

[Apreche]

The surprise in the middle of the book. It's OH SHIT the first time you read it, no matter who you are.

'nuff said

[DAR]

I'd love to read this but I just have too much on my table right now. I've got a stack of at least twenty books, actual books the kind without pictures that I've been meaning to read. Maybe on a wintry day I can give this a look.

[Jax-Ur]

Before the CGS crew discusses BONE I urge everyone to see the new Jeff Smith documentary on dvd. It's titled "The Cartoonsit: Jeff Smith, Bone, & The Changing Face of Comics." It has commentary from Smith, Harvey Pekar, Paul Pope, Scott McCloud, Terry Moore, & Colleen Doran. You can get it thru Smith's Boneville site.

[Fade2Black]

Before the CGS crew discusses BONE I urge everyone to see the new Jeff Smith documentary on dvd. It's titled "The Cartoonsit: Jeff Smith, Bone, & The Changing Face of Comics." It has commentary from Smith, Harvey Pekar, Paul Pope, Scott McCloud, Terry Moore, & Colleen Doran. You can get it thru Smith's Boneville site.

I'll second that recommendation. It's a well-made documentary.
I picked it up from Jeff Smith a couple weeks ago, at S.F.'s Alternative Press Expo.(While talking to Jeff, I mentioned CGS's BOTM selection.)

[knightwingbk]

I can't decided if I want to read the one-volume edition, or the smaller color trades, so I'm hoping one of you guys can provide perspective on that.

[Jax-Ur]

The book was intended as a black & white text so you may want to read it that way. I know Smith was reluctant to colorize it at first but it turned out well.

Smith fans may also want to check out his new children's book LITTLE MOUSE GETS READY. It's for very young kids and beginning readers. Check it out at http://toonbooks.com/. I'd love to hear what the CGS guys with kids (or the just the young at heart) think of this series of texts.

This post has been edited by Jax-Ur: 03 November 2009 - 03:58 PM

[Marathon]

I can't decided if I want to read the one-volume edition, or the smaller color trades, so I'm hoping one of you guys can provide perspective on that.

I was in the same boat as you, and after comparing the two editions, I went with the colour versions. This may be heresy but I just think it looks better in colour. I'm also quite sure I read somewhere that Jeff Smith had full approval over Steve Hamaker's colouring.

-----------------------------

Bone was always one of those comics that I dismissed out of hand, due to it's childish look. If the Geeks hadn't put this forward for BOMC I probably still would be ignoring it. Having finally broken down and read it (in the nine separate colour volumes) I fully admit I was completely wrong about it. The story starts off cute and funny, but then slowly takes on an epic quality that ranks it up there with all the celebrated stories in comics.

Jeff Smith's art, once I got used to the cartoony style, is excellent and I rank him right up there with Kevin Maguire in capturing facial expressions, particularly for the Bone characters themselves.

My favourite character was the (almost) incorrigible Phony Bone, and one of my favourite panels in all comics was in one of these issues. the last page of Bone #22 "Council in the Dark", Fone Bone and Thorn return to the town to find it barricaded, they try to talk their way in but Jonathan has orders from the "New Boss" to not let anyone in. When they ask him who's the new boss, he turns around and points to Phony Bone, who's striding down the street like a half-pint "El Presidente"

Finally, when the announcement was made earlier this year about more Bone stories coming out in the next couple of years, my original response was "Why's everyone getting so excited?" Well now I know, and I'm excited too.

[GreenMeerkat]

I enjoyed Bone but not as much as many people seem to. There is no disputing Smith's artistic prowess. Truly a master cartoonist at work here, but I'm not convinced by his writing. In particular, I really didn't like all the business with the ghost circles. The introduction of such blatant and bizarre magic kind of lost me there. Still, a mostly entertaining read.

Derek

[darrel]

I work for the library and ive had access to just about all of the Bone trades and Im just one of those few comic fans that just dont see the great stories. I dont find the comedy funny and i dont care about any of the characters. The art is nice and it fits the book.

[Battousai]

Where to begin...

Simply put this is one of the finest examples of American sequential art put to paper, and I would go as far to suggest in my gushing that it be made a mandatory read in our school systems.

I may have heard some people commenting on the length of the volume, but it didn't deter me. I was able to tear through the entire thing this summer in one sitting. There's a lot there, but it moves at a brisk clip.

I remember reading Bone as it came out issue by issue since the early 90's and it would always be at the top of my "to read" pile whenever the latest one came out. Mr. Smith's pacing would frustrate me at times only because (especially towards the end of the series) I would be dying to find out what happened to the characters next. However the advantage of the one volume eradicates that particular issue. The presentation of the book leaves me satisfied, but I wouldn't have minded if it was just a bit bigger.

Mr. Smith does an overall good job at world building, though I do find it a bit frustrating at times. I enjoyed the creation myth/religion that was built around the dragons and dreamtime. While the series takes place in what looks like a Middle-Ages setting, the references to a more modern Boneville (an incident with a nuclear reactor and a mention of pizza in a cup come to mind) tend to take me out of it a bit. On the other hand, the cartoony nature of the Bone cousins and some of the denizens of the forest and capital city is something that is quickly gotten over, much in the same way that one gets past the fact that the characters in Usagi Yojimbo are anthropomorphic.

Both the artwork and characters evolve during the series, in both subtle and drastic ways. It's enjoyable to see how the relationship between Fone and Thorn matures from infatuation to something much deeper, and how both grow into more heroic roles. I am quite happy with the layers that were added to Grandma Ben, and even Smiley and Phoney have their own redeeming moments near the end of the story. While just comic relief at first, I'm glad that Mr. Smith was able to make the Rat Creatures a credible threat, although I'm somewhat disappointed with what he did with Kingdok.

I'll probably add on to this if I can think of anything else to say. To make a long review short (too late), while it has it's (relatively) minor faults, this is a fantastic series that should be read by all.

4.5 frekkin' sweers.

This post has been edited by Battousai: 06 November 2009 - 10:58 PM

[Neutron11]

As an elementary school teacher, I can't think of another book/series that has introduced ongoing generations to comics more than Bone. I have a few hundred GN's in my class, most of which I purchased hoping (obviously) that the kids would enjoy, but Bone is the series that I can't keep on my shelves. I did an informal poll in class and out of my 30 students, 24 of them have read at least one of the volumes of Bone. This year I have three struggling and reluctant readers who are plowing through the One Volume Edition of Bone. Their parents are astounded that they are plowing through a 1,400 page book! I bought Bone in issues as it came out and now have multiple volumes of the colored and one volume editions of the book in class; I loved the series for the story and the art is amazing, but the reason that Bone is such a significant book in my opinion is the impact it has had on young readers. It is a 'funny book' that is intelligent and doesn't dummy down any content for the young readers. It is the perfect comic book because it speaks to ANY reader who picks it up, regardless of age and gender. How many other books can you say that about?

[Marathon]

I've previously gushed about the series as a whole, now I'm interested in other Bone products.

I've ordered the Rose book, but what else is out there? I see there's a Big Johnson Bone story that is apparently out of print, however I think I saw that it's being reprinted next year. There's also the Art of Bone book. I also noticed that there was some figures released a few years ago, how were they, and are they still available for relatively cheap money?

[Battousai]

I've previously gushed about the series as a whole, now I'm interested in other Bone products.

I've ordered the Rose book, but what else is out there? I see there's a Big Johnson Bone story that is apparently out of print, however I think I saw that it's being reprinted next year. There's also the Art of Bone book. I also noticed that there was some figures released a few years ago, how were they, and are they still available for relatively cheap money?

I don't remember the name of the company, but there are two computer games based off of the "Out From Boneville" and "The Great Cow Race" story arcs.

[JGMadisonW]

It's about the one-year anniversary of my reading the one-volume Bone (after a few "false starts" before that). I didn't get very interested until I heard the interview with Jeff Smith on Indie Spinner Rack . . . it adjusted my perspective of how to view the artwork. After that, Bone blew my mind.

Few artists can convey a shift in emotion through a panel-to-panel expression of a character. I promise to give some specific examples of this later for folks to agree or disagree (I write this at the office, so I need to get my book).

My stepson HATES to read books. For his regular reading assignment, I suggested the Bone one-volume, and his teacher agreed to it. The boy was hesitant and then proceeded to devour the book. He finished it in 6 weeks, which is a pretty big deal for a 10 year old who hated reading!

[Grimmas]

I got this as a birthday present last year and read it through quite quickly. I loved it! Its such a uniqure experience from scary to funny to heartwhelming.